Recovering Jewish-Christian Sects and Gospels (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae)

towards the history of early jewish christianity 

writing of gospels was first the undertaking of the more liberal Hellenis-
tic wing of earliest Christianity because this section was more in need of
legitimating its position in relation to Jewish traditions.
Those Christ believers for whom their new faith did not mean a
break with their earlier Jewish identity or practices, were not so much in
need of these foundation stories. The Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint and
some collections of Jesus’ teachings were enough for them.^3 However,
once the Greek gospels were out, it became apparent that the “Hebrews”
and the “Ebionites” should also write gospel stories of their own from
the materials available. It is perfectly possible that in this process they
included some “original” Jesus traditions from their own stock. If these
gospels someday surface from excavations, a hidden cave or an ancient
dumping ground, we will have more opportunities to discuss the history
of their individual passages. The evidence we have today indicates that
these gospels, as full compositions, were clearly post-synoptic.

.. Summary and Conclusion

To summarize, in this volume I have sketched six early Jewish-Christian
profiles:

.Irenaeus’ Ebionitesseem to have been related to the Hebrew (non-

Samaritan) section of the early Jerusalem community and were

openly anti-Pauline. The composers of theGospel of the Hebrews

were related to this type of Ebionism (see below).

.Elchasaitescombined the basic notions of Irenaeus’ Ebionites (the

base line) with the religious practices and eschatological ideas

adopted from theBook of Elchasai.

.Epiphanius’ Ebionites/Hellenistic-SamaritanEbionitesprobably were

an offspring of the missionary activity of the Hellenists of the early

Jerusalem community among the Samaritans. Later on, they also

adopted some Elchasaite ideas. Epiphanius found theGospel of the

Ebionitesamong them.

.Epiphanius’ Nazarenes(and to some extent also Jerome’s Nazarenes)

were an imaginary, stereotyped picture of a “pure” Jewish-Christian

heresy that Epiphanius had (re)constructed on the basis of Acts

and Eusebius’Ecclesiastical History, for the purpose of his own

(^3) Cf. Kloppenborg’s analysis of the (possible) use of Q inClement, Didacheand
James. Kloppenborg , –, –.